It is common to hear pastors and leaders talk about how young people and teenagers are leaving the church. In the United States there is a mass exodus of teenagers leaving the church to enter higher education. I am sure that if you have been in the ministry for a few years, you have also seen this reality. Possibly many names of young people who have left your congregation can come to your mind right now, without you finding a sufficient reason. Given my own personal experience, and from hearing what other teens are saying, here are three predominant reasons why teens leave church.
1. Questions without answers
The education received by a student in secular institutions will always raise questions that challenge the authority and integrity of God’s Word. In Genesis we read of God pre-existing; that is, He exists before time and space. He is the sovereign agent of creation. But our school systems teach of a blind watchmaker randomly orchestrating the beauty that is the cosmos. This is complete antitheism.
In many classes on religion it is taught that all religious beliefs are equal in truth, none superior to any other, while the Bible clearly establishes the exclusive nature of Christian belief. The historical person of Jesus is questioned by scholars and liberal atheists, distorting and corrupting the perfect biblical image of Christ recounted in the Gospels. It is natural for a student in an anti-Christian and secular society to face challenges to his own faith that inevitably provoke skeptical questions of all kinds.
What kind of response are these young Christians receiving from their ministry leaders? In most cases, there has been a failure in the pulpit, and more particularly in its youth and young adult programming. Wherever I have given talks, lectures, and sermons, teenagers complain that the questions they ask often go unanswered. These are experiences I know all too well, having struggled with creationism and evolution, atheism and theism, while having no local leader to guide me through these issues. It has been a common evangelical trend to leave the brain at the door, embrace emotionalism and spiritualism, and label subjective experiences faith.. Churches that endorse the “relationship not religion” movement fail to recognize that they do more harm than good by promoting subjective experiences over teaching doctrine and truth.
It has been a common evangelical tendency to leave the brain at the door, embrace emotionalism and spiritualism, and label subjective experiences as faith.
It is, when in fact it is the only true religion, a view of the world and life provided by the Scriptures. What is the difference between a Christian and an atheist when it comes to beliefs? Each one has a belief regarding the origin, meaning, morality, and destiny, which are the four questions required of each worldview, of each “religion”.
To be out of touch with the intellect is to alienate the young who are preparing to make their mark on this world, making them believe that the intellect does not play a significant role in their faith. This is why students seek out debates, dialogues, and other intellectually stimulating events, because they are hungry and searching.
This also explains why many youth and young adults leave the church. Not having satisfactory answers, they implicitly perceive that there are no answers, and therefore the Christian faith is not that comprehensive worldview that they once thought it to be. For this reason, apologetics is absolutely necessary for the church, as it advances the Christian faith in a secular society, and reshapes the culture in the public arena. As long as we neglect this, the exodus will continue, and our youth will suffer.
So what can you do? If you are a pastor or youth leader, set up spaces where your sheep can ask questions. Maybe consider opening the mic every so often to a . Try to create spaces where young people feel it is safe to ask questions. If you are a young person, you should know that the Christian faith does have answers; do not stay without looking for them. Ask your pastors, and check websites like this one for questions you have. You can also look for good book recommendations that can help you.
2. Sermons without relevance
Another reason young people leave the church is because there is a lack of relevance in the teachings and sermons they hear. How many times do you sit through sermons on the prodigal son, the beatitudes, or other passages, and walk out the same way you came in? A local pastor in southern Ontario recently shared with a group of students that, despite the fact that his sermons were “expository,” they never touched on culturally relevant issues, such as abortion or same-sex marriage. It may not surprise you how common this is.
Young people are well aware of what goes on in the public square: they are exposed to it on a daily basis, and it is fruitless when they are taught the Bible without its application. Pastors are misserving the Word of God, and they are doing their congregations a disservice as well, if they do not demonstrate the enduring relevance of Scripture to all of life. It is exciting to listen to the pastor’s sermon and discover that the Bible does have a message about current events in our society.
Unfortunately, students are often led to believe that the Bible simply talks about personal transformation and nothing else. Not much is said about cultural matters, since controversial topics are avoided out of fear, ignorance, or because they are considered “irrelevant”. The moral decline of the West is not a pressing concern for most churches, and now we see what is happening in countries like Canada and the United States. In fact, young people are surprised to learn that the church in North America once provided education and health care services to the public, and that Canada, for example, was a fairly Christian nation, painting a very different picture of the church than the one we know The Hispanic church in Latin America has the opportunity to be a light in the midst of darkness in a crucial time like the one we are living in. Otherwise, its impact on society will become obsolete, as has already happened in other countries.
The relevance of the church and its evangelical message of Christ as King and Redeemer certainly had a high impact in the past, much more so than the 21st century church. For most young people, applying biblical truth to different aspects of society is something new, and represents a broader vision of the vast implications of biblical teaching. Considering issues of nation building, legislative reforms, educational provisions, and other similar issues, reveals a relevant and applicable gospel to each case, setting, and time.
We must do everything possible to apply Biblical truth, and by doing so, we will learn how inexhaustible the Word of God is. Imagine the teaching of being a “city set on a hill” (Mt. 5:14-16). What does that mean exactly? And how do we apply it? If young people don’t find relevance in church, they will find it elsewhere. This world is working overtime to make young people believe that relevance and truth can be found anywhere but Christ. So pastors need to be very intentional and make strategic decisions, like the ones mentioned above, so that young people can see the importance and relevance of the Christian worldview.
This world is working overtime to make young people believe that relevance and truth can be found anywhere but Christ.
3. Church without mission
One last reason to consider why young people leave the church is because of the lack of mission in the church. There is a cry that asks for something more than personal transformation. There is a cry to be part of a larger narrative, to play a pivotal role in God’s plan to renew his creation. There is a desire to strive for a goal, to work towards an end, to be a part of something bigger and more meaningful.
Modern youth view church as a transient social club, an isolated community that embraces an escape mentality. Young adults don’t want to sit aimlessly, waiting for Jesus to return. They want to know that they are being prepared and discipled to make a mark on their world, commissioned to carry out a divine task: the advancement of God’s kingdom on earth.
Consider the mission statement of the church in Matthew 28:19-20:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and remember! I am with you every day, until the end of the world.”
What are the implications of this? The great commission is the proclamation of the good news that Christ is King. He sits on his throne, having atoned for sin, and removes the stains of injustice from those who repent and turn to Him. This evangelism has to do with the salvation of the individual and the nation, the group of individuals ; and it is a commitment to disciple the nations. This includes applying Biblical truth to every area of life, including the national government, federal law, health care, etc. The implications are far reaching and incorporate cultural cultivation. How else can we hope to see a national renewal?
Teaching personal salvation, transformation, and renewal are all biblical, and indeed central to changing a nation; but we are not limited to it. Scripture encourages us to focus beyond the person (singular) to persons (plural).
Consider what Jeremiah wrote to the Israelites who were taken into exile: “And seek the well-being of the city where I have banished you, and pray to the Lord for it; for in their well-being they will have well-being” (Jer. 29:7). This implies that if judgment fell on that nation, they too would be affected.
Consider the international scope of the Messiah’s reign, in which the psalmist writes: “Let him rule from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth” (Ps. 72:8). A church without a mission is a church without an identity, since to identify with Christ is to be a “city set on a hill” (Mt. 5:14). The city of light is the one that proclaims objective truth and moral justice to the world. Young people want to be a part of this, of a great narrative, of wonderful work that glorifies God, of a place where they can use their abilities and gifts to advance the kingdom of God.
Pastor: what are you doing to make your church reflect…